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Trinity Storytellers Handbook/Chapter Two: Noetics
12,000-18,000 words How Psi Works * Just a little primer on what Psi is, how and why it does what it does. Complements the stuff on taint/quantum from Chapter 3. Should be no more than 5K. How to Work Psi * The major thing that separates the protagonists of Trinity is their ability to manipulate the subquantum medium. So how do I, as a Storyteller, use Psi in a game aside from the neat powers psions have to use? What sorts of stories could I tell about Psi? How can it be used as a MacGuffin? Sections include (but are not limited to): * Troubleshooting – How do I tell an effective story — particularly a mystery — when the characters have access to stuff like clairsentience, telepathy and teleportation (without having the answer always be “noetic dampeners”)? How can I avoid these pitfalls while still making characters feel useful? * Ramping Power – What sort of challenges should characters face as they become more powerful noetically? The danger of essentially becoming a noetically-powered Aberrant? Increased Attunement sensitivity? What if characters are playing proxy-level characters? The Venezuelan Phenomenon : This is the story of what really happened. Note that this was originally developed by author Zach Bush, who was one of the writers on Terra Verde, and who was originally slated to write this chapter. : The Norça has had many of the surviving Chibs in secret installations throughout the Venezuelan Quarantine Zone. They and their associated crews have secretly been working on a way to break the imposed barriers limiting psions to a single aptitude. The surrounding Taint of the Zone keeps the Doyen out. : Part of the Pai's plan to protect Sudamérica and the world involves a series of generators placed in orbit: some of the technology that went into these generators dates back as far as 200 years, to some obscure research done by a Sir Doctor Calvin Hammersmith. The devices are dubbed "Hammersmith generators." Many of them, each more powerful and more refined than Dr. Hammersmith's original device, are placed in orbit around Earth. Theoretically, this should create a massive amount of subquantum turbulence around Earth, disrupting - or perhaps even killing - any nearby Doyen, thus rendering them unable to interfere with Earth for some time. One of the larger generators is housed in one of the main research installations. : In the process of the Chibs' research, they discovered something about psion genetics: Something about the triggering process makes it so Doyen may possess any psion. They cannot possess neutral humans. Any psion, however, can potentially be a Doyen in disguise. The Pai discovers this in person when one of his biokinetically-made clones visits one the main installations for an update. : He knows he's safe, as are his research team, due to the surrounding Taint. But he realizes he can't trust anyone: not even himself (rather, the "selves" of his which operate outside the Quarantine Zone). He sets his plan in motion a little early, and triggers his Hammersmith generators. The result is somewhat unexpected in that it causes many psychs and low-power Aberrants to spontaneously trigger, as well as bestowing uncanny luck or skill upon many. While unexpected, it certainly works in del Fuego's favor. : He orders his Chibs to destroy the installation (all of them?), so their quantakinetic signatures will register as taint to any investigators, who would probably assume an Aberrant attack. Del Fuego and his researchers are currently hiding out, pondering their next move. * Venezuelan Phenomenon – In addition to telling us What Really Happened™, tell me how I can use it in my game. Not just as an obstacle while my players go about their business, but as the focus of a story by itself. * The Chitra Bhanu Purge – Ditto. Give a rundown of what happened and why. If we want to run an action/espionage story set in 2109, how should Psi factor into it (either from the POV of attacking psions or from the Chibs themselves)? The above two sections might actually be subsections/examples in a larger “examples of stories involving psi” thing. Any other related subject matter is cool. You get the general idea of the chapter.